For all of the latest Kurdish news, see these sources:
ANF English: https://anfenglishmobile.com/
Hawar News: https://www.hawarnews.com/en/
Rojava Information Center: https://rojavainformationcenter.com
Women Defend Rojava: http://womendefendrojava.net/en/
Rojhelat: http://rojhelat.info/en/
Rojava Centre for Strategic Studies
Komun Academy:
MA NEWS
http://mezopotamyaajansi22.com/en/NEWS
Center for Human Rights in Iran
https://www.iranhumanrights.org/
Iran Human Rights
NEWS
- US official says Israel was behind assassination of Iranian scientist
- Iran sends biggest ever fleet of oil tankers to Venezuela
- Iran’s ‘envoy’ to Yemen’s Houthi sanctioned by US
- Iran accuses US of blocking coronavirus vaccine purchases
- UN experts: Iran must release lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh
- Iran executes dissident journalist accused of inciting unrest
- Kameel Ahmady: British FGM academic ‘jailed in Iran’
OPINION, COMMENTARY, ANALYSIS
- The Forgotten Kurds of Iran: A Primer on Rojhelat
- For Biden, a path out of Iran-US resentments
- From Kiarostami to Farhadi: 10 essential films from the Iranian New Wave
- With Biden win, some Iranians lose hope ayatollahs will fall
- Why Khamenei’s alleged transfer of power to son signals seismic change for Iran
- A history of continuity in Iran’s long nuclear program
- Iran: UN calls for accountability on 1988 prison massacres marks turning point in three-decade struggle
- A Very Trumpian Christmas Surprise? Signs Point to a Possible US Attack on Iran
- Now’s the Time for Israel to Make Peace With Iran
- Iran’s calculated risk
- Two Decades Later, Still No Justice For Iran’s ‘Chain Murders’ Of Intellectuals
- The implications of a military figure as president of Iran
———————-
NEWS
1. US official says Israel was behind assassination of Iranian scientist
02 Dec 2020 | CNN
A senior US administration official said Israel was behind the assassination of Iran’s top nuclear scientist but declined to give details about whether the Trump administration knew about the attack before it was carried out or provided support.
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/12/02/politics/iran-scientist-israel-assassination-us/index.html
2. Iran sends biggest ever fleet of oil tankers to Venezuela
06 Dec 2020 | Al Jazeera
Iran is sending its biggest fleet yet of tankers to Venezuela in defiance of U.S. sanctions to help the isolated nation weather a crippling fuel shortage, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
3. Iran’s ‘envoy’ to Yemen’s Houthi sanctioned by US
08 Dec 2020 | Al Jazeera
The administration of outgoing United States President Donald Trump on Tuesday kept up its maximum pressure campaign of sanctions designed to squeeze Iran by blacklisting an Iranian official as well as a major Iranian university and another individual.
https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2020/12/8/iranian-envoy-to-yemens-houthi-rebels-sanctioned-by-us
4. Iran accuses US of blocking coronavirus vaccine purchases
08 Dec 2020 | Al-Monitor
As much of the world is slowly moving close to an end to COVID-19 with either producing or ordering doses of coronavirus vaccines, Iranians seem to have a longer way ahead before making it to the other side of the bridge.
5. UN experts: Iran must release lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh
09 Dec 2020 | Arab News
UN experts have demanded that Iran release women’s rights figure and lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh after she was returned to prison in the country. The appeal comes amid growing scrutiny over Tehran’s treatment of political prisoners and the high-profile release of Australian academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert last month.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1774841/middle-east
6. Iran executes dissident journalist accused of inciting unrest
12 Dec 2020 | The Guardian
Amnesty International brands rush to execute Ruhollah Zam ‘reprehensible’.
7. Kameel Ahmady: British FGM academic ‘jailed in Iran’
14 Dec 2020 | BBC
A British-Iranian academic has been sentenced to eight years in prison by a court in Tehran, his lawyer says. Kameel Ahmady was convicted of “collaborating with a hostile government”, Amir Raesian tweeted.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-55300694
OPINION, COMMENTARY, ANALYSIS
1. The Forgotten Kurds of Iran: A Primer on Rojhelat
26 Feb 2020 | Washington Kurdish Institute
Iranian Kurds have historically faced institutionalized discrimination that has marginalized them and inhibits the progression of living and social conditions as well as the expansion of human rights.
https://dckurd.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Iranian-Kurdistan-Paper.pdf
2. For Biden, a path out of Iran-US resentments
04 Dec 2020 | Christian Science Monitor
In their everyday jabs at each other, Iran and the United States speak of containing or restraining the other in the present-day Middle East. The U.S. keeps forces in Arab states and backs Israel. Iran shoots or provides missiles around the region, harasses U.S. vessels, and maintains a nuclear program.
3. From Kiarostami to Farhadi: 10 essential films from the Iranian New Wave
05 Dec 2020 | Far Out
Although it is generally noted that the Iranian New Wave Cinema was at its peak after the Iranian revolution of 1979 when Shah Mohammad Reza was replaced by an Islamic republic under the Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the Iranian New Wave actually began almost two decades before the revolution. Films of this period moved away from the industrially produced works and began to resemble social documentaries which investigated the cultural problems that the population faced on a daily basis.
https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/iranian-new-wave-10-best-films-farhadi-kiarostami/
4. With Biden win, some Iranians lose hope ayatollahs will fall
05 Dec 2020 | New York Post
For some Iranians, President Donald Trump’s hard-line strategy against their country brought political hope even as it brought economic misery.
https://nypost.com/2020/12/05/with-biden-win-some-iranians-lose-hope-ayatollahs-will-fall/
5. Why Khamenei’s alleged transfer of power to son signals seismic change for Iran
08 Dec 2020 | WION News
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei may have transferred power to his son, according to reports. The leader reportedly did this because of his declining health. The following Twitter thread has got the world talking.
6. A history of continuity in Iran’s long nuclear program
08 Dec 2020 | The Atlantic
Iran’s interest in developing a nuclear deterrent is often attributed to the Islamic Republic, which, according to Western intelligence sources, had a structured nuclear weapons program until 2003. However, in reality, this interest predates the 1979 revolution and reflects a deep-seated desire for national prestige and development, as well as a need to deter regional rivals.
7. Iran: UN calls for accountability on 1988 prison massacres marks turning point in three-decade struggle
09 Dec 2020 | Amnesty International
A group of UN human rights experts have written to the Iranian government warning that past and ongoing violations related to prison massacres in 1988 may amount to crimes against humanity and that they will call for an international investigation if these violations persist, a push for accountability welcomed by Amnesty international on the eve of International Human Rights Day.
8. A Very Trumpian Christmas Surprise? Signs Point to a Possible US Attack on Iran
10 Dec 2020 | The Nation
Now is the time to prevent a possible strike on Iran, before Trump’s military posturing becomes military action.
https://www.thenation.com/article/world/trump-iran-attack/
9. Now’s the Time for Israel to Make Peace With Iran
11 Dec 2020 | Haaertz
The shifting sands in the Middle East have elicited surprising alliances and rapprochements between sworn enemies. Is an agreement with the Islamic Republic really science fiction? https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-now-s-the-time-for-israel-to-make-peace-with-iran-1.9364306
10. Iran’s calculated risk
11 Dec 2020 | The Hindu
When the P5+1 nations (China, France, Russia, the U.K. and the U.S., plus Germany) reached an agreement with Iran in 2015 to scuttle the country’s nuclear programme, it was expected that the agreement would lead to a new beginning in West Asia. However, this did not happen.
https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/irans-calculated-risk/article33301628.ece
11. Two Decades Later, Still No Justice For Iran’s ‘Chain Murders’ Of Intellectuals
12 Dec 2020 | Radio Free Europe
On November 20, 1998, journalist and translator Majid Sharif left his mother’s home in Tehran for a run. He never returned. A few days later, his mother identified his body at a morgue. Sharif was found dead on a street in the capital. His death certificate said he died of a heart attack.
12. The implications of a military figure as president of Iran
13 Dec 2020 | Jewish News Syndicate
Facing elections in 2021, some in Iran argue that a military figure at the helm could turn the country around, but the supreme leader will prove a formidable obstacle.
https://www.jns.org/opinion/the-implications-of-a-military-figure-as-president-of-iran/